ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · band · leaves · wind · race · branch · straw · bat

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. cell — in biology
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. branch — a division
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. race — the arms race
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. race — humankind
  22. bat — the animal
  23. band — a ring
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com